


“Under pressure”, a Darth Vader one-shot

by AzureAngel2



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Coruscant, Force Bond (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-21 10:09:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14913405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzureAngel2/pseuds/AzureAngel2
Summary: Summary: It’s the duty of a Sith apprentice to obey his master at any given time. But sometimes the humiliation is too great to bear. So Darth Vader wanders off from an assigned task just to walk into a person he never thought to see alive again.Length: one-shotTime frame: The story takes place in 15 BBY.Planet of choice: CoruscantDisclaimer: SW is owned by George Lucas, Lucas Ltd. and now The Walt Disney Company





	“Under pressure”, a Darth Vader one-shot

**Title:** _“Under pressure”_ , a Darth Vader one-shot for the “Representing the Under-represented Mod! Challenge” on the JC fanfic forums

 

_My body is a cage that keeps me_  
_From dancing with the one I love_  
_But my mind holds the key_

_My body is a cage that keeps me_  
_From dancing with the one I love_  
_But my mind holds the key_

_I'm standing on a stage_  
_Of fear and self-doubt_  
_It's a hollow play_  
_But they'll clap anyway_

_My body is a cage that keeps me_  
_From dancing with the one I love_  
_But my mind holds the key_

_You're standing next to me_  
_My mind holds the key_

_I'm living in an age_  
_That calls darkness light_  
_Though my language is dead_  
_Still the shapes fill my head_

_I'm living in an age_  
_Whose name I don't know_  
_Though the fear keeps me moving_  
_Still my heart beats so slow_

_My body is a cage that keeps me_  
_From dancing with the one I love_  
_But my mind holds the key_

_You're standing next to me_  
_My mind holds the key_  
_My body is a,_

_My body is a cage_  
_We take what we're given_  
_Just because you've forgotten_  
_That don't mean you're forgiven_

_I'm living in an age_  
_That screams my name at night_  
_But when I get to the doorway_  
_There's no one in sight_

_I'm living in an age_  
_That laughs when I'm dancing with the one I love_  
_But my mind holds the key_

_You're standing next to me_  
_My mind holds the key_

_Set my spirit free_  
_Set my spirit free_  
_Set my body free_  
_Set my body free_

_Set my spirit free_  
_Set my body free_

 

 

Minutes ago, Cassandra Morrígain Krennic had described darkness as a friend, an ally even. And the girl, though it was hard to admit, was right in every possible way. He appreciated her more and more with each meeting.

Darth Vader left the Galactic Gallery through the main entrance. It took him longer than a normal human to adjust to changes in ambient light. To be truthful, his vision blanked out every time someone switched the lights on or off.

So he remained standing on the gallery staircase until things got back to normal again. Only then he started walking back to the library.

It was annoying really. His visual interface would not even allow him a full 360 degree view of his surroundings. Neither was infra-red or ultraviolet spectrum vision possible. Any stormtrooper out there in the vast Empire was better equipped than he was.

His entire Sith armour was nothing but a fairly slapped-together junk system. As a former hobby mechanic he knew that there was no way upgrading it without killing himself.

There had been a time when the dark lord had preferred death to his mad existence. It had been but a brief moment of weakness. Garoche Tarkin and his pregnant mistress had paid the price instead.

High and erect, he strode over the plaza.

It had taken Nagina's clone copy to remind him what it meant to be a servant of the dark side of the Force. Her words had hit close to home. But had that truly been her own?

From all he had learned about his dead cousin in so far, she had been interested understanding the Sith and their belief system throughout her life. Her aim had been her uncle's greatest pride and yet sorrow. He might have given her texts not suitable for her. The entire wisdom of Darth Revan, Darth Nihilus and many others. Perhaps even of Darth Bane, who could be considered as the founding-father of the 'Rule of Two'.

Was it possible that all this knowledge had passed on to the clone copy.

Deep in thought he entered the public library, where the book signing event was almost over. Wilhuff Tarkin looked relaxed and smiled at the children surrounding him.

Darth Vader used the dark side to cloak his presence and disappeared among the book shelves. There was no point in sitting down and reading.

Fact was, he was heavily dyslexic. Anakin Skywalker had been, too.

Shmi Skywalker had been taken from her family when she had been but a toddler. Her owners had never invested a single credit in her education. It was all about beating her into obedience.

When Anakin had been born, mother and son had been allowed to stay together, but all the lessons Shmi had been able to give her child had been about life in common.

Mos Espa had made Anakin street-wise, this had not helped him find the right boxes or read delivery lists. Instead of fixing the problem, Watto had given the boy a good thrashing each time.

In the Jedi temple nobody had noticed Anakin's struggles with reading and writing, because he had excelled the other padawans as a skilled Force user.

During the Clone Wars there had been an army of helpers who had made it possible for Anakin to read secret military messages. He had been able to understand maps and star charts properly though. This way he had been safe from discovery, too.

As a pilot Anakin had possessed a knack for numbers, which were crucial inside the flight cockpit. The board computer and its data stream needed to be understood. R2 had never questioned his human owner in any way.

As for Padmé, she had preferred to send short holo messages to Anakin for she had been too busy for anything else. He never had been under any pressure to write his wife a love letter.

Leaning against a book shelf, containing a mix of data disks and real paper backs, the entire misery of his dyslexia revealed itself to the dark lord. Now that he was forced to live in his head most of the time, with his body held alive by Sith armour, it would have been a fair diversion from his pain.

The calling card of Cassandra's physiotherapist was still hidden in a pocket of his utility belt. Perhaps this Mistress Billilo could find discreet ways of finding him a teacher. He could be very convincing with a Force choke.

**Author's Note:**

> Sources:  
> The song “My body is a cage” by Arcade Fire (2010)  
> Wookieepedia – The Star Wars Wiki  
> Jedipedia, a free German Star Wars-Encyclopaedia


End file.
